AIA Leaders Challenge the Department of Education's Designation of Architecture
AIA joined fellow stakeholders on Capitol Hill for a briefing on the impact of upcoming federal student loan limit changes under the RISE final rule and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
On June 8, AIA joined other stakeholders affected by upcoming changes to federal student loan limits for a briefing on the consequences of the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) final rule and its implementation under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The program featured remarks from incoming AIA President Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, who emphasized the importance of strengthening the architecture pipeline and advancing equitable access to professional education. Other speakers from the health and education communities shared parallel stories and concerns, underscoring the broad impact of the new loan limits across licensed professions.
Additional perspectives were provided by Representative Torres (D-NY) and Senator Merkley (D-OR) staff members, both of whom described legislation their offices have introduced to address the emerging challenges.
The RISE rule establishes a two-tiered system that limits most graduate students to $20,500 annually and $100,000 in aggregate borrowing, while reserving higher limits for a narrow set of 11 designated professional degree fields. Architecture and numerous other licensed professions are excluded.
For architecture, the implications are significant. The Master of Architecture degree typically exceeds the caps, creating a gap between educational cost and available federal financing. This threatens enrollment, disrupts the student pipeline, and exacerbates existing workforce shortages across the profession.
Speakers described how their professions are already facing hiring challenges, and further constraints on graduate access could limit the country’s capacity to design and deliver critical healthcare, infrastructure, housing, and public spaces.
Members of Congress have introduced a range of legislation, including efforts to expand the definition of professional degrees, equalize borrowing caps, delay implementation, or overturn the rule entirely.